Historical address delivered before the citizens of Waltham, July 4, 1876

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us 13l>90.7.5

Rutter. Historical address de-
llrered before the citizens of
tfaltham, July Ij, 1675. ig^f

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HARVARD
COLLEGE
LIBRARY

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HISTORICAL ADDRESS

AND

CELEBRATION

AT

WALTHAM.

''jULY 4, 1876.

Historical Address

DELIVERED BEFORE THE

CITIZENS OF WALTHAM,

July 4, 1876,

BY

JOSIAH RUTTER.

With an Account of the Celebration of the Day.

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1877.

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WALTHAM :

WALTHAM FREE PRESS OFFICE.

1S77.

PRESIDENTS PROCLAMATION.

On the 25th of May, 1876, the President of the United States
issued the following Proclamation: —

Whereas, a joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States was duly approved on the 13th day of March
last, which resolution is as follows :

^^Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Bepresentatives of the United
States, in Congress assembled :

"That it be and is hereby recommended by the Senate and House of
Representatives to th<i people of the several States, that they assemble
in their several counties or towns, on the approachins: centennial an-
niversary of our national independence ; and that they cause to have
delivered on such day an historical sivetch of said county or town from
its formation ; and that a copy of said sivetch may be filed, in print or
manuscript, in the clerk^s office of said county, and an additional copy
in print or manuscript, be filed in the office of the librarian of Con-
gress, to the intent that a complete record may thus be obtahied of the
progress of our institutions during the first centennial of their existence."

Whereas^ It is deemed proper that such recommendation be brought
to the notice and knowledge of the people of the United States,

Now, therefore, I, Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States,
do hereby declare and make known the same, in the hope that the ob-
ject of such resolution may meet the approval of the people of the
United States, and that proper steps may be taken to carry the same
into effect.

Given under my hand at the city of Washington, the 25th of May, in
the year of oar Lord 1876, andof tlie independence of the United States
the one hundredth. U. S. GRANT

By the President.

Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State,

At a town meeting held March 19, 1877, it was —

Voted, That the Selectmen be directed to cause to be published in
proper form and in numbers according to their judgment a sketch of
the Ceuteunial exercises of July 4th, 1876, including the Historical Ad-
dress of Josiah Rutter, Esq.

E. B. ARMSTRONG, T
TIMOTHY LEARY, I
CHAS. H. BILL, \

B. C. BATCHELDER,
L. S. FOSTER.

Selectmen.

ORATION.

In the Spring of 1630 there would seem to have
been quite a fever in the mother country for emigra-
tion to America. In the course of a few weeks seven-
teen vessels sailed from diflferent ports on the English
coast, bringing over some prominent men, such as Gov.
Winthrop, Sir Richard Saltonstall, Henry Bright and
others. A number of these had made Salem their des-
tination and there they landed. Not, however, feeling
satisfied with the place, they in the course of a few days
removed, to Charlestown. Here again they were disap-
pointed, and going up Charles River about four miles
they finally selected as a permanent location, a spot to
which with other territory was afterwards given the
name of Watertown. Here with Sir Richard Saltonstall
as their leader, and the Rev. George Phillips as their

6

Pastor, they established a home and formed a church,
the covenant of membership having been signed by
forty men, most of them heads of families.

As originally established and chartered Watertown
included what is now embraced in the towns of Weston,
Waltham, Watertown and part of Lincoln. And so it
remained for nearly a hundred years. In 1713, Weston
became a separate town. From this time what was af-
terward set off as Waltham, was known as the West
Precinct of Watertown, an ecclesiastical rather than a
municipal designation. In 1720 a church was formed,
and soon after a meeting-house was erected on the spot
near the Lyman mansion, where afterwards a more com-
modious house was built which remained until 1840.
During the one hundred and twenty years, from 1720
to 1840, there were but three Pastors of this society,
the Rev. Warham Williams officiating from 1720 to
1752 ; the Rev. Jacob Gushing from 1752 to 1809 ; and
the Rev. Samuel Ripley from 1809 to 1840.

In 1738, Waltham was incorporated as a town. It
is remarkable that we do not find on some of the records
some intimation of the origin of the name given to our
town. We know that various meetings were held in
the West Precinct in reference to the change, that for-
mal notice of the intended application was served upon
the town of Watertown, and that a petition was present-

ed to the General Court asking for its incorporation. But
in none of these is found any suggestion of the name
intended to be given to the new town. The probability
is that it was proposed by some one of the inhabitants
who came from the vicinity of Waltham Abbey, in Es-
sex County, England. Waltham gained about six hun-
dred acres of territory by annexation from Newton in
1849, and lost on its northeast corner by the incorpora-
tion of Belmont in 1859.

It may seem strange that from the time of the incor-
poration of the new town, for a good number of years so
little should have occurred within its borders to become
matter of history. And yet it is not wanting a satis-
factory explanation. The territory of Waltham had
always been a sort of middle or border land between
two well known and thrifty towns. And this continued
to be its character long after the establishment of the
new town. The inhabitants were a farming community,
occupying the rich and productive lands in the northerly
section of the town, in preference to those nearer the
river which were of an inferior quality. It was a town
that had no centralitj. The Post-Office, after one was
established, was in the vicinity of Beaver Brook where
there was a public house and a store ; and there was
also a public house and store at the extreme west end
of the town. And thus it continued until the Boston

8

Manufacturing Company, in 1813, commenced opera-
tions attracting to their own location the business and
population, and giving to the town a business centre.

Thus it happens that from 1738 to 1775 we hear in
history but little of Waltham. But we are not to infer
from this that her people took no interest or had no part
in the stirring events of that busy period. During those
forty years, to say nothing of the battles with ihe In-
dians, the most important engagements of the French
war occurred. Within a period of fifty years, war be-
tween France and England had been three times pro-
claimed and peace, three times declared. Every fresh
declaration of war involved a fresh warfare between the
French and English possessions in America. Besides
the troubles between England and France, Massachu-
setts had grievances of its own against the French colo-
nies which required her attention. France held the
island of Cape Breton upon which was the strongly
built fortress of Louisburg. From this were sent out
privateers to prey upon the fisheries and commerce of
New England. In 1744, an expedition consisting of
four thousand men was fitted out for the capture of
this stronghold. The expedition with the aid of the
British fleet proved successful, and Louisburg was cap-
tured. In 1754, Massachusetts, aided to some extent
by the other colonies and by England, conquered Nova

9

Scotia and Canada. These expeditions to . the Canadas
were voluntary acts of the soldiery of Massachusetts.
Yet no warfare in this country has ever involved a
greater amount of privation and suffering. The march
from Massachusetts to the Canadian frontier was enough
to deter the most hardy from the adventure. A good
part of the distance they .were to travel through an un-
broken wilderness, thick, gloomy, dark, repulsive enough
to drive the wild beast of the forest back despairing to
his den. Yet all these trials and sufferings they will-
ingly endured as loyal subjects of England. And when
the war was closed and peace was again declared be-
tween France and England, they laid down their cap-
tured possessions, the Canadas, Nova Scotia and Cape
Breton, as a brilliant prize at the foot of the British
throne. And yet within ten years from that time
England commenced and continued that series of usur-
pations and wrongs which finally forced the colonies on
the 4th of July, 1776, to declare themselves free and
independent, forever absolved from all allegiance to the
crown of England. We have no means of knowing what
number of soldiers went from Waltham or any other
town on these expeditions to Canada. It was a volun-
tary service requiring no municipal action. But from
the fact, as we shall see in connection with another sub-
ject, that Waltham appropriated money for the payment

10

of the soldiers who were engaged, we shall be satisfied
that Waltham did her portion of the service.

It would be expected that with 1775 would com-
mence a period when we should meet with some items
of historical interest in connection with our town. The
remarks made in partial explanation of the comparative
silence of our records in reference to the French and
Indian wars, will apply here also. It would seem to
have been a town always ready to discharge every duty
which fell to its lot, but composed of a people not easily
excited and requiring, it may be, some outside influence
fully to develop the sentiment of patriotism or a sense
of the wrongs inflicted upon the country. They were
evidently a cautious, considerate yet determined race of
men. The battle of Lexington and Concord was fought
on the 19th of April, 1775. Yet although there were
frequent town meetings about that date, both before
and after, we find no mention of that event. It is prob-
able, however, that the act of the Selectmen under the
date of May 13, 1775, was caused by the battle, and
that was in these words :

'^May 13, 1775, the Selectmen delivered out to the
soldiers, whose names are hereafter given, a good blanket
agreeable to recommendation of the Provincial Congress,
they being enlisted in the service of Massachusetts for
the defence of the liberties of America."

Then follow forty-five names headed by the name of

11

ElipLalet Hastings, probably forming the Company

which went to Bunker Hill a few weeks after.

The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought June 17, 1775.

Yet our records show no reference to this battle until

nearly a year after, June 11, 1776, when we find the

following entry :

"At a meeting of the Selectmen, June 11, 1776, they
ordered the Treasurer to pay Josiah Wyer for a bayonet
which was lost in the engagement on Bunker Hill by
Eliphalet Hastings."

But yet we find enough to assure us that the people
of Waltham were in full accord with the popular senti-
ment of the times. I have said they were a cautiouF,
considerate, conservative race of men. Down to a very
late period the people of the colonies had had no occa-
sion to find fault with the British government. They
had not sought independence. They were no unwilling
subjects of Great Britain. They had fought under her
flag side by side with their English brethren, and under
commanders appointed by the king. And when con-
quest followed victory, they laid down the prize, even
though it were a continent, a free offering to their royal
master. But yet, when wrong, or insult, or oppression
came, bravely though still cautiously they set their
houses in order for resistance.

The various Stamp acts were passed from 1765 to
1771. The colonies resisted their execution. England

12

threatened force and sent an army to Boston for that
purpose. In August, 1774, a convention of the towns
of Middlesex County was held at Concord to take coun-
sel together. Waltham was represented, and at a town
meeting held September 30th, the action of the conven-
tion was approved and the following vote was passed.
It will be observed that it was couched in very cautious
language. And well it might be, for a step further
would have meant treason :

^^Voted and chose a committee for other towns to send
to on any emergency, and they to send to other
towns on any emergency."

"At a meeting held June 9, 1775, the question was
put, to know the minds of the town whether they will
be prepared and stand ready equipped as Minute men?
And the town answered in the affirmative."

"At a meeting held June 25, 1776, it was voted to
procure money and pay each non-commissioned officer and
soldier who shall enlist for the town's proportion in the
present expedition to Canada — six pounds, six shillings
and eight pence on their passing muster"

At a meeting held May 27, 1776, and called for this
purpose —

"The • question being put to know the mind of the
town whether they will advise their Representative that
if the Hon. Congress should for the safety of the united
colonies declare them independent of the kingdom of
Great Britain, they, the said inhabitants, will solemnly
agree with their lives and fortunes to support them in
the measure ; and it passed in the affirmative."

13

A committee of the town, after a long and laborious
investigation, on the 16th of October, 1778, made their
Report to the Town showing sundry amounts due to dif-
ferent inhabitants for military service, or for money con-
tributed for the support of the soldiers during the Rev-
olutionary and Canadian wars. One would judge, from
the long list of names, that it must include every adult
male inhabitant, and shows that the people must have
responded liberally to every military requisition. The
whole amount ordered to be paid was over £3,300.
The first company of soldiers named in the Report is
that of the eight months men, so called, containing thirty
names, with that of Col. Jonathan Brewer at its head.
Col. Brewer commanded a regiment at Bunker Hill and
he undoubtedly had with him his Waltham Company.
He was brought home wounded at midnight and his
wounds were dressed by Dr. Marshall Spring. He must
have been a prominent and influential man, for we find
in George Bancroft's History, that the Provincial Con-
gress at Watertown received from Col. Jonathan Brewer
of Waltham, a proposition to raise five hundred men for
an expedition to Quebec. He kept a public house at
the corner of Main and Gore streets, opposite Warren
street

The war of 1812, it is well remembered by many now
living, was unpopular in New England and particularly

14

in Massachusetts. It was thought to be an attack upon
our commerce, and it was believed that it would drive
our mercantile marine from the waters of the world.
Some opposition was felt and manifested here as well as
in most important places in New England. But yet the
records show that every requisition of men and money
was promptly met, and that in addition to the compen-
sation paid by the government, the town generously re-
warded its own soldiers.

On the 12th of April, 1861, an attack was made on
Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Caro-
lina, by an army of ten thousand organized rebels, pre-
pared with all the appliances of modern warfare for the
reduction of a fortified position. The people of New
England, of the entire North, and here as much as any-
where, were aroused beyond measure of description.
All party feeling w^as lost. There prevailed but one
common feeling of resentment and a determination at
whatever hazard, to preserve the Union and to maintain
the authority of the government. A meeting of the cit-
izens was called, at which resolutions were passed call-
ing upon the town for immediate action. At a meeting
of the town held for the purpose on the 26th of April,
it was voted to provide each soldier with a uniform, to
pay him ten dollars a month for five months' service, and.
during his absence to make provision for the support of

15

his family. Every call made during the war for men
or means was promptly met by the authorities. The
town expended for war purposes $95,000, of which
$42,000 was repaid by the State, and sent to the war
seven hundred men. Of these, fifty-three were killed in
battle or died from disease contracted in the service.
Their names, are, we trust, imperishably engraven on
yonder monument, to remind our children and our chil-
dren's children to the latest posterity, of their names, and
of the cause in which they died. It is meet, it is proper,
it is a duty that the town should hold their memories in
grateful remembrance, for it is to their efforts and to
those of their comrades in arms, that we are indebted
that to-day we have a country, untrodden by the foot
of the slave, with the flag of the Union still floating over
our heads.

The Rumford Institute should not be forgotten in
anything purporting to be a history of Waltham. It has
been to the town, emphatically, an institution of learn-
ing. It was established fifty years ago under the aus-
pices of the Manufacturing Company, and antedates
every institution of the kind in the State, and we be-
lieve in the country. The Company provided the hall for
its exercises and also gave it the income of the hall when
let for other purposes. In this way they had a fund for
the increase of their library, which accumulated to some

16

thousands of volumes, and on the establishment of the
public library, in 1865, was given to the town.

At the commencement of the century, there were two
school houses in the town. We now have twelve houses
containing thirty-two schools of the various grades, with
thirty-nine teachers. The average daily attendance upon
the schools is about 1,500. The appropriation for schools
in 1875 was $34,171.00.

The total valuation of the town of Waltham for 1875
was $10,131,770.00 The entire debt at the close of
the last year was $497,350.00, of which $260,000 is for
the water loan. The estimated value of property be-
longing to the town is $681,900.00.

The population of Waltham in 1775 was about 800.
Its increase down to the time when manufacturing com-
menced here, had been but little. In 1830, the popu-
lation was about 2,500. It is now about 10,000.

The Boston Manufacturing Company commenced
their works in Waltham in 1813. For many years it was
the most notable manufacturing town in the State. It was
of sufficient importance to induce a visit from Henry Clay,
the great orator and statesman of the West. The
original capital was $100,000. Paul Moody was the
first agent, and Francis C. Lowell was the first treasurer,
who is said to have been the inventor of the power loom.
In 1820 the Bleachery was established, turning out

17

about one ton of goods per day. In 1868 the Hosiery
Works were started, which now turn out about 5000
dozens of their goods per week. At the present time
the capital of the company is ^800,000. They have
40,000 spindles, turning out 45,000 lbs. of goods per
week. The Bleachery now daily finishes up 15 tons.
Their cotton goods have sold at different periods as fol-
lows: from 1813 to 1816 at 30 cents per yard ; in 1819
at 21 cents; in 1826 at 13 cents; in 1829 at 8 1-2 cents ;
and 1876 at 8 1-2 cents.

The town of Waltham is much indebted to the Boston
Manufacturing Company, not only for the business char-
acter it gives the place, but for its uniformly liberal
treatment of the town. There was never any feeling of
antagonism between the two. Lest the establishment
might seem to be a burden to the town, the company
for a long period provided a school-house and teacher
for the district. The town and the company always
worked together in harmony. It ought not to be for-
gotten on an occasion like the present that for much of
this we are indebted to two men, now deceased, who for
a long period had charge of the works here. Both of
them were men of culture and refinement, with a dignity
of demeanor which secured respect, and a geniality of
disposition which won confidence and esteem. They
felt a warm interest in the welfare and prosperity of

18

the town, and as occasion allowed, exerted an influence
in its favor. Whenever as citizens of Waltham we are
counting up the men and the events which have helped
to make her what she is, our minds will not fail to rest
upon the manly forms, the gentle bearing, the clear in-
telligence, and the practical sagacity of Ebenezer Hobbs
and Isaac W. MuUiken.

Nothing has of late occurred in Waltham to give such
an impulse to its prosperity and the increase of its pop-
ulation, as the establishment of the American Watch
Company here, about 1857- These works, originally
founded in 1854, have been a marked success. Other
factories have since been established, but they must all
look back to this as their origin and model. They em-
ploy about 1000 hands and put out about 300 watches
daily. The section of the town in which they are lo-
cated has been built up almost entirely by them or on
account of the vicinity of their works. The great suc-
cess of this establishment is due to the energy, perse-
verance, and executive ability of its business manager,
Royal E. Robbins.

We have another industrial establishment rapidly
growing in importance and extent. Our Iron Foundry
has become well known through the country, and par-
ticularly in the west for its manufacture of gas pipe and
water pipe and gas machinery. The facilities for exten-

19

sion possessed by the company are such as induce the
belief that it is to become the leading establishment of
the kind in our vicinity.

The Bank, now known as the Waltham National
Bank, was established in 1835. It now has a capital of
$150,000. The Waltham Saving Bank has deposits
amounting to over $1,200,000. In 1856 the Waltham
Sentinel was establisned by Josiah Hastings ; in 1863
the Waltham Free Press, by George Phinney. Both
papers are still conducted by their original proprietors.

Did time admit there are many other important in-
dustrial interests to which I would gladly refer.

We commenced the century now brought to a close
with one church and one meeting-house supported by
force of public authority. We have now eight churches
answering to the different constitutional tendencies of
the human mind, with houses of worship combining every
element of beauty, taste and convenience, each sustained
by the free contributions of its respective members. We
began with means for the education of the young, limit-
ed in character and extent. We enter upon a new cen-
tury with the ability to offer to the poorest of our chil-
dren, instruction in all the higher departments of human
learning. Commencing the century with a town with-
out a business centre, before the half of that century
had elapsed it had become an important business centre

20

and market for a large surrounding territory. Fifty
years ago, a daily stage to Boston, run by men still liv-
ing among us, placed us far in advance of all our neigh-
bors. Now every half hour of the day, a half hour's ride

in a car, for comfort and convenience rivalling the most
luxurious domestic accommodations, brings us to the

gates of the city. We have a public library of 8,000
volumes, three printing oflBces, and two newspapers. A
well organized fire department, furnished with steam
appliances and having the river for an exhaustless reser-
voir, protects, so far as human agency can do so, against
the most resistless of the elements. A century ago we
had a population of farmers, with probably a single rep-
resentation of each of the common mechanical trades.
We close up the century with extensive manufacturing
establishments, in cotton and wool, and iron and brass,
and silver and gold, giving employment to thousands of
our inhabitants and affording support to more than one-
half our entire population. Our fathers sent to England
or France for a time keeper of the simplest construction.
We have now in our midst a factory employing a thou-
sand hands and turning out daily three hundred watches,
which have the reputation of being the best timekeepers
in the world, and finding ja market on both sides of the
Atlantic. Our town has ihe credit of introducing the
first power loom in America, and of establishing the

21

first watch manufactory in the world. We have given
to the State two governors, two Representatives to the
National Congress and one Speaker of the National
House of Representatives. Instead of the tallow candle
of 1775, our steeets and our dwellings are lighted by
gas. Our houses and stables are supplied with water
from a fountain exhaustless as the ocean, fresh and pure
as the mountain lake. Photography, steam, the railroad
and the telegraph have accomplished all imaginable pos-
sibilities of improvement in their respective spheres,
leaving us only to wonder what of the undiscovered and
unknown can be yet left in the bosom of the future, bye
and bye to burst upon the astonished vision of another
generation.

I

CELEBRATION OF THE DAY.

At some preliminary meetings of the citizens of Waltliam
for the pm^ose of taking measures to commemorate the cen-
tennial anniversary of national independence in accordance
with the President's proclamation, a general committee of
ladies and gentlemen was appointed to make the appropriate
arrangements. The first meeting of the committee was held
on Wednesday evening, June 2l8t, at the Reform Club Rooms,
and was called to order by Mr. Alden Jameson, the chair-
man, who in a brief address stated the object of the commit-
tee and the nobility of its work. The committee was per-
manently organized by the choice of Dr. Edward Worcester
as chairman, and L. H. Weeks as secretary.

Various sub-committees were chosen with reference to
special parts in the order of exercises for the day. The dif-
ferent committees to which were assigned the details of the
celebration were as follows:

COMMITTEE ON ORATION AND

COMMEMORATIVE EXERCISES.

S. O. Upham, Nathan Warren,

B. B. Johnson, Rev. J. C. Parsons,

Laroy Browne.

24

COMMITTEE ON FINANCE.

Francis Buttrick, Luman N. Hall,

Timothy Leary, L. C. Lane,

S. O. Upham, J. W. Fairbanks,

Alden Jameson, Geo. B. Williams,

E. W. Fiske, Zenas Farraenter,

Thos. P. Smith, Wm. A Roberts.

COMMITTEE ON DECORATION.

Mrs. E. L. Burnham,
" H. F. Warren,
J. Fred Moore,

Mrs. Chas Johnson,

" Anna Eddy,

" Alvin Bolton,

" Alonzo Bowers,

" Charles Clark,
Miss Josephine M. Jameson,

E. L. Barry,
Geo. Osgood,
Geo. A. Flagg.

COMMITTEE ON PROCESSION.

Wm. Locke,
L. C. Lane,
J. J. Harvey,
John Haynes,

Ephraim Stearns,
H. C. Hall,
E. W. Lane,
H. N. Fisher,
J. T. Prince.

COMMITTEE ON HOURS OF PROGRAMME.

Wm. Locke,
B. B. Johnson,

Alden Jameson,
N. Warren,

L. N. Hall.

25

COMMITTEE ON SALUTES.

Francis Buttrick, Rufus Warren,

C. H. Bill, Alden Jameson,

Timothy Leary, Wm. Locke,

L. C. Lane.

COMMITTEE ON EEGATTA AND

AQUATIC SPORTS.

Wm. Gibbs, J. G. Miller,

H. P. Bai'tlett, E. L. Barry,

J. J. Harvey.

COMMITTEE ON ATHLETIC SPOETS.

T. J Barton, B. B. Johnson,

A. M. Ryan, G. Frank Frost,

Edgar Emerson.

COMMITTEE ON MUSIC AND SINGING.

J. W. Colby, Miss Charlotte Farwell.

J. W. Fairbanks, " M. J. Miles.

Rev. J. C. Parsons.

COMMITTEE ON FIREWORKS.

Dr. E. Worcester, Rufus Warren,

T. P. Smith, Nathan Warren.

26

The chairmen of the 8e\reral committees were ex officio an
Executive Committee.

After subsequent meetings of the committee the following
Programme was arranged :

National salutes and ringing of church bells at sunrise,
noon and sunset.

Religious services at 8 A. M.

Grand military and civic procession at 9 A. M.

Commemorative exercises at lOJ A. M.

Regatta and aquatic sports at 2 P. M.

Athletic sports at 4 P. M.

Children's concert at 6 P. M.

Fireworks in the evening.

A large tent was erected on the Common, and Bumford
Hall was kept open during the day for the convenience and
pleasure of the public, especially the younger portion, while
a band of music was in constant attendance, and an oppor-
tunity afforded for dancing.

Early in the morning a procession of Antiques and Horri-
bles under the Marshalship of H. C. Hall, paraded through
the streets.

The religious services took place in the tent at the Com-
mon, and were conducted by the Clergymen of the town in
the following order :

Invocation and reading Scriptures, by Rev. Benton Smitli.

Hymn.

Prayer, by Rev. W. W. Colburn,

Remarks, by Rev. E. C. Guild.

Hymn.

Remarks, by Rev. P. D. Bland.

Hymn.

Prayer, by Rev. E. E. Strong.

Benediction.

27

Services were also held at the Episcopal church, conducted
by the Rector, Rev. T. F. Fales, and at the Catholic church
High Mass was held at 6 o'clock in the morning, by the
Rev. Bernard Flood.

The grand military and civic procession formed on Main
street, opposite the Common, and marched through the prin-
cipal streets under the charge of Major L. C. Lane, as Cliief
Marshal, with A. W. Sherman, Wm. Gibbs, Ephraim Stearns,
John Handrahan and Thomas Miles as aids.

It was composed of Company F, 5th Regiment, M. V. M.,
Capt. Laroy Browne ; the Firemen and Ex-firemen ; Grand
Army Post; Emmet Literary Association; Mutual Relief
Societies ; Ancient Order of Hibernians ; Reform Club ;
other societies and organizations ; Drum Corps ; carriages con-
taining young ladies representing the several States, and others
dressed in the costumes of the olden time, and representa-
tives of trades and professions. It made a display eminently
worthy of the town and the occasion, and formed an attrac-
tive feature of the day.

The Commemorative exercises were held in the tent and
were attended by a large assemblage of our citizens.

They were arranged and conducted as follows :

Singing — by a chorus from the several choirs in town —
"The Star Spangled Banner."

Prayer, by Rev. T. F. Fales.

Singing — ''Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean."

Reading of the Declarationof Independence, by Albert C.
Reed.

Singing — Whittier's "Centennial Hymn."

Historical Address, by Josiah Rutter, Esq.

Singing — "America" — by the whole audience.

28

Tlie Regatta and Aquatic sports took place upon the river
and consisted of boat and tub races.

The Athletic sports'were of various kinds and came off on
the Common.

The Children's Concert took place in the tent on the
Common. The singing was by several hundred children
from the public schools under the leadership of Mr. L. B.
Marshall. This was a beautiful and spirited feature of the
celebration, and furnished a fitting close for the public exer-
cises.

Among the pieces sung was the following original Hymn,
composed for this occasion by Mr. Geo. Phinney :

WALTHAM CENTENNIAL FOURTH

OF JULY HYMN.

A hundred years have come and gone
And left their impress o'er our land

Since first the Nation 's right was won
Among the powers of earth to stand.

As backward turns the quest'ning glance
And scans the bright historic page.

The nodding plume and glistening lance
Mark the fierce conflicts of the age.

We read qf gallant deeds and brave,
Inspired by love that patriots feel

Who count their lives but naught, to save
Their country's honor and its weal.

Ah, not in vain a hundred years

Have rained their golden blessings down.

If we as well our places fill

As sires we with our homage crown.

29

The National salutes were fired by a detaclimeiit of
Baxter's Battery, and the church bells were rung at sunrise,
noon, and sunset. In the evening a fine display of fireworks
with music was given on the Common.

The martial music for the day was furnished by the Wal-
tham Band, the orchestral music for the hall and singing by
Hull's Quadrille Band.

In concluding this brief and official account of the cele-
bration of the one hundredth anniversary of our National
Independence, it may not be inappropriate to refer to the
successful character of all the proceedings, and the pleasure
and satisfaction they afforded the people. The arrange-
ments for the celebration were made and carried out by the
citizens, and all expenses were paid by voluntary
subscriptions. The total expenses were ^671. The
townspeople generally entered heartily into the spirit of the
occasion and took an active part in the recognition of the
day. No accident or imhappy occurrence of any kind served
to mar the festivities.

Among the many decorations of residences and build-
ings, those of Rumford Hall deserve more than passing
notice. The interior of the Hall was most tastefully and
beautifully trimmed and decorated by the ladies with flags,
flowers and emblems, and presented a spectacle of artistic
beauty and patriotic design. Besides the decorations were
many articles of antiquity and historical association contribu-
ted for exhibition by individuals. The committee of ladies
were in attendance and served to make the social features
of the celebration one of the most successful and enjoyable.
In all the proceedings of the celebration of the day Waltham
may record with patriotic pride the part it took in the
commemoration of the Centennial Anniversary of the in-
dependence of our country.

M

WALTHAM SOLDIERS' MONUMENT.

I

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